Holy sweetness High Fructose Corn Syrup!

I had a bad day yesterday. S'ok, they happen.

My bad day got worse when I gave in and had 2 fun size pieces of candy...it's in my house for Halloween and we now have 148 pieces of candy to give away because of it...again, s'ok, it'll be enough.

It got worse because my found memories of Milky Way and Snickers are just memories...because whoa was that sweet. It was so sweet that I got a tummy ache...from 2 fun size pieces of candy!

Do you know how many fun size pieces of candy I would typically consume around Halloween? More than 2 in one sitting, that's for sure.

I couldn't believe the reaction I had to it. No splotchiness thankfully since there was no wheat or grains, but it was way too sweet. Yes those candies are all sugar but a bunch of it had to be the high fructose corn syrup...it was bad.

So I have learned that when I'm going to indulge I just need to stick with my organic, super dark chocolate and one piece...that should avoid the tummy troubles.

I also had gluten free pizza last night...ordered not made. That made things better :)

Lastly, I am going to identify as paleo...well my eating style...even though I still eat dairy. Some things I read said dairy is ok, others say no...but most of what I'm eating is paleo...and I'm not following the wheat belly thing 100% either so paleo makes sense to people. Saying no grains and really no beans and no sugar doesn't seem to make sense..."what do you eat?" is the response to that...but paleo is more of a "oh, ok...can you eat that?" response :)

More delicious food

One of the things that I'm really loving about going grain free is all of the new recipes that I've been trying. Things that I've never thought of combining before...or things that I've eaten but never thought I would make.

This weekend we started trying out paleo stuffing recipes for Thanksgiving. I need to make something that everyone will enjoy but will still be ok for me and the hubby to eat. Traditionally we had a meat stuffing with sausage and hamburger meat, Pepperidge Farms herb stuffing and then some celery and egg and broth. So going paleo/grain free means that I can still have all of the meat (yay meat) just not the breading. Luckily there are lots of options out there. Yesterday we started with this one minus the cranberries and I think less onion that she calls for. She is not overreacting when she says "Eat it up!!! OMG..." it is so freaking yummy! I have a feeling we will stick with Juli's recipe (with my minor adaptations) but we have a few more to try.

Additionally, I mentioned trying things that I wouldn't think of trying together. Today's lunch is just that. I cooked up a bunch of chicken to go with the stuffing last night, so we had leftovers. I cut up some leftover chicken, added some apples, grapes, almond butter and honey....mix...serve inside of bibb lettuce. The recipe called for romaine but no...that is not a good wrap in my opinion. This lunch is freaking delicious! I'm so excited to play around with these flavors even more.

With all of the recipe searching and blog reading I've been doing, I reintroduced myself to pinterest. Now that I'm using it more, I see how addictive it can be. I'm pinning way too much stuff but it's much easier to access on my shiny, new Iphone 5S...and I'm able to just look it up and start making it in the kitchen. On my galaxy 3 I would look things up but didn't really have them saved...using pinterest is helping with that saving part.

I do need to start learning how to make my own recipes, and not just the coconut chicken and broccoli & cauliflower...though that was yummy. Eating this way for almost 2 months I can cut myself a bit of slack though in terms of not creating everything on my own yet...at least I'm cooking!

Coconut Curry Chicken with broccoli and cauliflower

Last night I made a super easy and delicious dinner. I'm sure that I've seen a recipe like this somewhere and I did not create it out of my own head, but after doing a quick search on the internet and my history, I don't see this anywhere. I apologize if I'm not giving credit where credit is due.

So super easy dinner last night. I had just purchased some organic, pastured chicken thighs and wanted to eat them. I've been craving curry but haven't wanted to go out to get it. Problem solved! I coated 2 chicken thighs with Jamaican Curry (both sides) and put it in a dish. I then covered the curry coated chicken with coconut milk (I used the Thai Kitchen which seems thicker). I put a cover on it and put in the over at 350 for about 30 minutes. I then mixed in a bowl some coconut milk and curry and wisked together. In another dish I put a bunch of broccoli and cauliflower and drizzled the mixture over the veggies and stirred. They weren't coated enough so I did it a second time. I didn't want to have it be covered like the chicken because I thought that the veggies would get too soggy...so enough to coat but not drench. I then added some walnuts and salt and pepper, mixed it up, put a cover on it, and in the oven.

What was super nice was my husband is not the biggest fan of curry, so in another dish I made him jerk chicken thighs and used more of the cauliflower and broccoli and just did salt, pepper, garlic and butter. We were both happy campers in about 30 minutes.

Super easy and delicious. I would post a picture but I ate it up...and I don't think this dish would have made a pretty picture, but it is pretty delicious.

Yay for no grains!

Accidental gluten intake turns red!

On day 46 I went to lunch at the Brat Stop, one of my favorite indulgences (today is day 48 which wow how did that happen). Anyway...I know that all of the sausages there are gluten free...I know that their cheddar cheese soup is not (stupid flour) and made sure that their chili was. My problem on Saturday was french fries. I have been so good and did not eat any fried cheese curds...but husband got some fries and I had 3...yup, 3 little french fries...and soon afterwards I was a red splotchy mess, felt feverish, dehydrated and like crap...all from 3 little french fries. My husband also got splotchy but I don't think he had the full body reaction that I had.

The nice thing was my parents were in town so if my Dad ever thought I was kidding about my intolerance...he got to see it first hand (I knew my Mom didn't need to see it to believe it but she got to see it too).

So my lesson as been learned.

Since I had already had a messed up day with that I opted to try gluten free pasta that night. We have this amazing Italian restaurant near us (Via Roma) and my parents really wanted to go back...we went...I had delicious oxtail (a special) with the gluten free pasta. My Mom and husband did the same (because they are awesome). I ate maybe a half of a cup of my pasta as a treat...but really just devoured the oxtail and was happy.

It was nice getting to have a gluten free pasta treat...but I won't be making it all the time. I really like the way I have changed how I eat and I feel much better about myself. The scale and my pant size may not represent how thin I feel...but the mirror shows it well :) My thighs have always been a trouble spot for me and they are getting smaller and smaller...and my skin is just looking great. I really like this lifestyle change...and dare you all to give it a try :)

No longer a challenge

I realized today that I've been grain free for 5.5 weeks now (38 days). I realize that I've done 30 and 40 day challenges in the past, but this isn't a challenge, this is now a change. I ended up giving away some of the pasta that we had in the house as well as the brand new 5 pound bag of flour. I know that most of the people in my life are not going to switch to the way that my husband and I are eating now, so might as well give them the stuff we aren't eating.

I did a weigh in yesterday. According to the scale I originally weighed myself on, I'm down 8 pounds. I'm not really trying that hard. I mean I do work out 4-6 days a week but I eat when I'm hungry and I'm still having a glass of wine a couple of times a week. So being 8 pounds down while still enjoying life is pretty impressive.

I do think that since I've reintroduced "snacking" my weight loss is slowing down, but I'm still at a pound a week which is pretty good. Snacking may be good though since it's possible I wasn't eating enough before. The flaxseed crackers were delicious but I only need 4 of them with some cheese and I'm good...as opposed to in the past where I could eat an entire box of crackers. I'm also very excited about making paleo apple cider donuts. I was going to cheat next week when my parents are in town and get an apple cider donut, but then a recipe popped up and I ordered what I needed to make them. I don't plan on eating sweets all the time, but apple cider donuts are just too delicious.

We've been playing around with different dinners this week. Lots of squash. Spaghetti squash for an Asian inspired dish...acorn squash with chicken sausage one night and with ribs another night...pumpkin as the fruit for my green smoothie...butternut squash soup (that was a lunch). Wow I didn't realize how many different types of squash I had this week until I just wrote it all out. I guess I'm in love with squash right now.

I'm just rambling now, so I will say that I'm excited about this next step in adjusting to a grain free life. There will always be exceptions (some beans here or there, rice on occasion) but mostly primal eating (my husband's co-worker said that his wife is paleo and he is primal...he still has dairy...so I like that...I'm primal)

35 days of no grain

I can't believe that I'm already at 35 days. I realized I've made a few oops and errors along the way (I ate peanuts last week when I was starving only to get a terrible belly ache later...why? They're legumes. Oh and this morning I felt like I had a hangover...I think it's because I ate some cashew cluster and some delicious pumpkin parfait right before dinner...hello sugar.) but overall I've been doing really good. I've incorporated a few seed based items (chia, flaxseed) and of course the chickpea flour and almond meal...but really I haven't missed things. I was really excited about the flaxseed crackers and think that tomorrow I will have some with my lunch. I have a weird day tomorrow so flaxseed crackers with cheese is a good lunch...maybe with some veggies to munch on too.

I have found that the Wheat Belly cookbook and PaleOMG have been great resources for me as well as Satisfying Eats. They have facebook groups too which just make life easier. Don't know what to make for dinner? Boom! There it is on facebook...or something that inspires me to make something similar. My husband is even getting more involved. He asked to get spaghetti squash (Mr. Iamnotafanofspaghettisquash) so that we could make some of our favorite asian noodle dishes. Speaking of which, I think I was supposed to make that tomorrow...that's not going to happen now since I get to babysit my 2 year old niece (she's super cute).

Anyway...overall I'm finding that this is becoming much easier. I do want to throw out a bunch of food (or give away) that is in the house, but my loving husband isn't sure if we should do that yet since we'll be having guests over for the next few months (hello holidays and the first year of owning our home). I may still throw away some stuff...I don't really want to give it away since I don't want my friends and family eating white flour and processed foods...but they don't want to stop so am I enabling by giving it to them??? Or maybe wait for food drives...but same worry there...oh well...throwing it out isn't always a good idea either.

Long story short, I'm loving eating this way...I just wish I prepared better on days that I'm not really going to be home, but for 35 days in, I'm doing pretty good.

Day 32 of no grains

I missed a few days in here towards the end and I do apologize for that. I also was unable to weigh myself on the same scale on day 30...but I did weigh myself on my scale at home and if that one is calibrated the same, I was down 9 pounds in 30 days!

More importantly though I just feel better. I tend to have more energy and am eating less overall. I love my workouts but on days I'm too tired I listen to my body. I get good sleep most nights (with the new puppy it's a little bit more difficult). I look good and I'm excited about keeping this going.

My blood test results came back saying I am not celiac, however, my doctor says if I feel better without the wheat, keep it out.

I experienced my first gluten free beer last night...just one. I've had a bit more to drink this week now that I'm past the no sugar portion...need to cut back again after tonight (I have a pumpkin cider I am excited about trying.) My gluten free beer tasted better than I was expecting. It was a pilsner style called "New Frist" by Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee (the good land), WI . It was a bit sweeter but I thought it was quite tasty.

That was enjoyed with our chicken tacos where we cooked up chicken with onions and peppers and cilantro, added some homemade guacamole and served in lettuce taco "shells" (aka butter lettuce). Super yummy. Tonight I will be making pizza again from the wheat belly cookbook and enjoying my pumpkin cider.

Another interesting side effect of this no grain thing...or possible side effect...I could really tell that it was ovulation time. I had read that kicking wheat and grains out helps with fertility but man I could tell it was time this month! Hopefully that means everything will fall into place...but if you're looking to get pregnant (or avoid it) going grain free may be of assistance.